Self service system for web site publishing

ABSTRACT

A web site creation and maintenance system permits distributed control and centralized management of a web site. The physical implementation of the web site resides on a database maintained by a database administrator. The web site system permits a site administrator to construct the overall structure, design and style of the web site. This allows for a comprehensive design as well as a common look and feel for the web site. The web site system permits content for the web site to originate from multiple content contributors. The publication of content is controlled by content owners. This permits assignment of content control to those persons familiar with the content. The web site system is also a self service web site system for content contributors, content owners, and site administrators. The self service system displays to users one or more panels that contain input fields to permit the users to submit content and web site components for publication on the web site. The user, through use of only a web browser running on the user computer, transmits the parameter to the web site database. In response, the web site is updated at the database in accordance with the parameter.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed toward the field of web sites, andmore particularly toward designing, creating, and maintaining web sites.

2. Art Background

Generally, a web site is a collection of text and images configured forpresentation in a predetermined way. A web site may be published by asingle person or published by a group of people. A company ororganization is an example of a group of people that publish a web site.For example, a company may have a web site for use by its customers(e.g., sale of products), and a company may have a web site for internaluse (i.e., Intranet). Typically, web sites published by a group arecreated and maintained through a collaborative effort. For example, acompany that sells hi-tech gadgets may include, on its web site,material that describes and shows uses for the hi-tech gadgets as wellas content that describes the basic technology of the hi-tech gadgets.The material that discloses uses of the hi-tech gadgets may be submittedby the company's marketing department, whereas the content thatdescribes the basic technology of the gadgets may be submitted by thecompany's engineering department. Thus, it is typical to assemblecontent for a web site from multiple sources when creating andmaintaining a web site.

Typically, to create a web site, the person, referred to as the contentcontributor, submits the content (e.g., files and images) to the website administrator for publication. The web site administrator assumesthe role of both constructing the web site and maintaining theimplementation of the web site. The task of constructing the web siteincludes using HTML to link the files and images. The task ofmaintaining the implementation of the web site includes ensuring properoperation of the host computer, such as a web server, as well asmaintaining up to date back ups of the web site. The content contributormay not be technical and may not have any knowledge of HTML. Thus, thecontent contributors rely on the web site administrators to publish thecontent.

One problem associated with this traditional approach is that funnelingall the content for publication through the site administrator creates abottleneck. For example, if a web site has multiple contentcontributors, all of the content contributors must funnel the contentthrough the web site administrator prior to publishing the content.Also, this approach places all of the responsibility of approvingpublication of content on the web site administrator when the web siteadministrator may have little or no knowledge of the content.Furthermore, under this approach, there is no single responsible personfor ensuring that the content is up to date and accurate.

With the increased popularity of the Internet and corporate Intranets,there is an increased demand for tools that aid in the creation andmaintenance of web sites. Accordingly, it is desirable to generate a website creation and maintenance tool that permits non-technical people topublish content on a web site. It is also desirable to generate a website creation and maintenance tool that apportions responsibility forweb site creation and maintenance task to the most appropriateindividuals.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A self service web site system permits content contributors to publishcontent without knowledge of HTML. The web site is implemented at acentral repository, such as a web server. In one embodiment, thephysical implementation of the web site resides on a database. The selfservice system displays to users, on the users' computers, one or morepanels. The panels contain input fields to permit the users to submitcontent and web site components for publication on the web site. In oneembodiment, the self service system permits a content contributor to addan item, add an item to a folder, associate an item with a perspective,and classify the item in a category. The user, through use of only a webbrowser running on the user computer, transmits the parameter to thecentral repository. In response, the web site is updated at the centralrepository in accordance with the parameter. The web site system alsopermits, through a self service implementation, administration andmanagement of the web site.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of the web sitecreation and maintenance paradigm of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment for the Web SiteDatabase system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment for implementingthe Web Site Database system.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment for generating aWeb Site using the Web Site Database system.

FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment for an administration page.

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment for the user manager.

FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment for a detailed user screen.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example Web Site home page using the Web SiteDatabase system.

FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment for the example web site home page ofFIG. 8 in edit mode.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example logon welcome screen.

FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment for displaying personal folders forthe Web Site database system.

FIG. 12 illustrates one screen for an item wizard to “Add an Item.”

FIG. 13 illustrates a screen for a second step in the item Wizard inaccordance with one embodiment of the Web Site Database System.

FIG. 14 illustrates a screen for a third step in the item Wizard inaccordance with one embodiment of the Web Site Database System.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example Web Site screen display after adding theitem.

FIG. 16 illustrates one embodiment for a create custom item type panel.

FIG. 17 illustrates one embodiment for specifying attributes in a customitem type.

FIG. 18 illustrates a screen for the user to specify the type ofprocedure and the text of the link display to execute the procedure.

FIG. 19 illustrates one embodiment for a folder dashboard.

FIG. 20 illustrates one embodiment for a create folder panel.

FIG. 21 illustrates an example Web Page for the new folder created.

FIG. 22 illustrates one embodiment for specifying folder attributes inthe folder manager.

FIG. 23 illustrates a screen for the folder manager for specifyingnavigation bar features.

FIG. 24 illustrates a screen display to customize the navigation bar fora folder.

FIG. 25 illustrates a category dashboard to provide quick and easyaccess to the category features of the Web Site Database System.

FIG. 26 illustrates an example create category panel.

FIG. 27 illustrates one embodiment for a create perspectives panel.

FIG. 28 illustrates one embodiment for the perspective dashboard.

FIG. 29 illustrates one embodiment for a create style panel.

FIG. 30 illustrates one embodiment for the find style panel of the stylemanager.

FIG. 31 illustrates one embodiment for the style editor.

FIG. 32 illustrates an example style manager for the navigation bar.

FIG. 33 illustrates one embodiment for the site style diagram for abanner.

FIG. 34 illustrates one embodiment for the color page.

FIG. 35 illustrates one embodiment for the style editor.

FIG. 36 illustrates one embodiment for a create group panel.

FIG. 37 illustrates one embodiment to modify groups.

FIG. 38 illustrates one embodiment for granting user privileges.

FIG. 39 illustrates one embodiment for setting group privileges to afolder.

FIG. 40 illustrates one embodiment for displaying content.

FIG. 41 illustrates one embodiment of a system for displaying content.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Web Site Paradigm

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of the web sitecreations and maintenance paradigm of the present invention. A web site110 contains one or more items (4102). By way of example, the web site110 may include documents (114), graphics (112), and forms (116).However, Web Site 110 may include any type of item (4102) (i.e.,content) for use with the web site paradigm of the present invention. Ingeneral, different entities are responsible for the creation,contribution, and maintenance of the web site. Specifically, for theexample of FIG. 1, the creation, contribution, and maintenance of website 110 is accomplished by database administrator 140, siteadministrator 100, content owners or folder owners 120, contentcontributors 160, and end-users viewers 150. Each of these entities mayconsist of one or more persons.

As is described more fully below, in one embodiment, the web site 110 isentirely maintained (4004) in a database (e.g., database 130 in FIG. 1).Database administrator 140 (e.g., information technology department)maintains the database. For example, database administrator 140 backs-upthe database from the operating computer (e.g., web server), and ensuresproper operation on the web server. Thus, this permits centralizedtechnology maintenance of web site 110 through maintenance of database130.

For this embodiment, site administrator 100 is responsible for theoverall creation of web site 110. Specifically, site administrator 100may design the overall structure and flow of web site 110, as well asthe look and feel of web site 110. Also, in another embodiment, siteadministrator 100 assigns style administrators that design the look andfeel of the web site (e.g., colors, font, etc.).

The web site is organized into a plurality of folders. The web siteparadigm permits the creator of the Web Site to specify who owns afolder, who can add content to the folder (i.e., contributor) and whocan view the items in the folder. In one embodiment, site administrator100 may designate one or more content or folder owners 120. The folderowners 120 are responsible for controlling both the content published onweb site 110 and for controlling viewing of that content. The Web Siteparadigm also permits dividing these privileges to match sub-folders,classified under a parent folder. The sub-folders represent a moredetailed level of classification that is best implemented via folders.

The content or folder owners 120 control the contents of their assignedfolders, as well as assign privileges to those that may view thecontents of their folder. The web site paradigm also permits a user todevelop a security model for the user community for the overallstructure of the web site. As shown in FIG. 1, content contributors 160provided content to the web site 110. The content is controlled orfiltered by folder owners 120 depicted as by control 170. Also, as shownin FIG. 1, end-user viewers 150 view the contents or items of the website 110. The viewing of the web site contents or items is controlled byfolder owners 120, as depicted by control 180.

In the prior art, content contributors must go through the informationtechnology department in order to publish content. This prior artmethodology places content publication and maintenance on a singlesource. In contrast, the web site paradigm of the present inventionprovides for distributed control by, allowing the folder owners 120 tocontrol content for a portion of the web site. The paradigm of thepresent invention eliminates the traditional bottleneck by providingdistributed control for content management. Furthermore, because the website is implemented on a centralized database, maintenance, includingappropriate backups of the web site, is easily maintained. Furthermore,the overall structure and style of the web site is controlled by asingle entity (e.g., the site administrator), permitting uniformity andcommonality for the overall structure and flow of the web site. In anexample motion picture web site, the contributors may comprise “movieteam”, the owner of the content may be “movie department head”, and theviewers of the movie may be “everybody.”

The web site paradigm is described herein with reference to certainnomenclature. Specifically, the system is referred to as a Web SiteDatabase system (i.e., referring to the database implementation).However, the features of the web-based system described herein apply toother implementations. Also, the term Web Site, with “W” and “S” incapital letters, refers to a web site created and maintained using theweb paradigm of the present invention. Furthermore, the Web SiteDatabase system consists of a web site development tool for the creationand maintenance of the Web Site. A user, as referred to herein, isanyone involved in the creation, maintenance and use of the Web Site,and an end-user refers to a person viewing content of the Web Site.

In one embodiment, the Web Site Database not only provides informationto its users, but also includes all the tools necessary to manage andmaintain the Web Site itself (i.e., the Web Site Development Tools).When the Web Site is first displayed, users may only view publicinformation. Users, with a valid user name and password, may log ontothe Web Site and view information that they have been explicitly grantedaccess to view. In addition, if the user has the necessary privileges,they may enter into an edit mode. In the edit mode, the user may add newinformation (e.g., content) to the site, or edit existing information.

The Web Site Database has a built-in structure for organizing,classifying and cross-referencing items in a web site. The Web SiteDatabase of the present invention enables the creation of a taxonomy forthe classification and organization of site content. In prior art website design, the smallest component is a page. A page consists of anassortment of links, images and text. In the Web Site Database, thesmallest component is an item. For this embodiment, pages aredynamically generated, and collections of items are displayed.

In one embodiment, the Web Site Database is organized into Web Sitefolders. These folders are similar to folders in a file system withmultiple items existing within a folder. Each Web Site item also has anassociated number of stored attributes. These attributes maintaininformation such as title, description and author. In general, foldersdivide a Web Site into distinct areas to make it easier for end-users tofind the information they need. The Web Site folders provide a mechanismfor the user to easily find information. A folder is generally acollection of related items (e.g., files, text, URLs, etc.). Forexample, a Web Site about travel may include the folders “Africa”,“Americas”, and “Europe”, representing areas for travel.

In one embodiment, each item is classified by a category. An item may beclassified in only a single category. The categories direct a user as towhat a particular item is, so the user may determine whether the itemcontains the information sought. For an example travel Web Site,categories may include “flights”, “lodging”, and “restaurants.” With useof categories, category pages may be called at runtime to show theend-user all items that are classified by the specified category.

The Web Site Database is optionally organized using perspectives. Ingeneral, perspectives identify areas of interest. An item may have morethan one perspective. Using perspectives, the user may find itemsrelating to their own preferences even though those items reside indifferent folders. For example, the travel Web Site may includeperspectives for “resort”, “Safari”, and “skiing.” Perspectives provideanother dimension of classification, and items may be assigned manyperspectives. Perspective pages may also be called at runtime to showthe end-user all items classified by the specified perspective.

In general, styles specify the appearance of the site navigation bar,the banner at the top of each page, and the main content area. The siteadministrator may use one of the standard styles provided, or create anew style to ensure a common look across the entire Web Site. Siteadministrators may assign style administrators to create and manage WebSite styles.

In addition to the Web Site Database components, the Web Site furtherincludes several other features to improve information retrieval,including search, quickpicks, news and announcements, and interest listsfeatures. The basic search finds all available items that contain thespecified words in the title, description, or keyboard list. Inaddition, an advanced search feature limits the search to a specificfolder, category, perspective, author, or to recently created items. Aquickpick is an item display option that provides quick access tofrequently used items. Links to quick pick items are displayed at thetop of the page. For the travel Web Site example, quickpicks may includea currency converter and travel guide. News and announcements are itemdisplay options that identify items of particular and current interest.In one embodiment, links to news items are displayed under a specialnews banner. Links to announcement items are displayed in the center thepage under the quick picks. Users logged onto a Web Site may add foldersto their interest list. In one embodiment, links to the folders aredisplayed under an interest banner on a home page for that user. Thisprovides quick access to the areas of the Web Site that most interestthe user.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment for theimplementation of the Web Site Database. For this embodiment, the WebSite is maintained on a database, database 250. In turn, database 250 isimplemented on web server 230. The users (i.e., content contributors andcontent viewers) use a plurality of computers, shown as desktopcomputers in FIG. 2 (e.g., 200, 205, 210 and 215). Each user ispermitted to view Web pages of the Web Site (e.g., user 200 views webpage 202, user 205 views web page 207, user 210 views web page 212, anduser 215 views web page 214). For this embodiment, to view content fromthe Web Site, the users, from the user computers, only transmit a URL tothe web server 230. The client computers need only run web browsersoftware (e.g., Netscape navigator, Microsoft Explorer) to utilize theWeb Site. No additional client software (i.e., software at the usercomputer) is necessary. Accordingly, the users have complete web sitefunctionality through use of a web browser running on the user computer.

As shown in FIG. 2, the web server 230 runs software, depicted as HTTPlistener 220. In general, HTTP Listener 220 is a server application thattransforms URL identifiers for operation with the Web Site Databasesystem. When the Web Site Database is installed, the databaseadministrator may choose to install the Web Site Database HTTP listener.The HTTP listener is a lightweight web server that includes a PL/SQLgateway to enable communication between web browsers and the database.Once installation is complete, the database administrator may change thelistener and the PL/SQL gateway settings at any time from within the WebSite. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2, users of the Web Site Databasesystem do not require additional client software to utilize the Web SiteDatabase system.

In one embodiment, the Web Site Database is contained entirely in adatabase (e.g., Oracle database 8i, available from or OracleCorporation, Redwood Shores, Calif.). First, to initiate the process ofbuilding a Web Site, space is allocated on a computer for implementationof the database. In one embodiment, to accomplish this task, a databaseadministrator uses a site creation wizard, part of the Web SiteDevelopment Tool, to allocate space for the database. Because the WebSite is contained entirely in a database, when the database isbacked-up, the entire Web Site and all its contents are also backed-up.In addition, the Web Site Database is portable, such that moving the WebSite Database from one server to another is as easy as transporting thedatabase from server to server.

When contributors add an item to the Web Site, the Web Site Database uploads the item, if necessary, to the database, and creates a link to theitem on the appropriate folder page. In addition, if the item is a HTMLfile, the Web Site Database lists the supporting files (e.g., images)that are already available and require up loading. Using the Web SiteDatabase, the folder page is automatically generated. The contributordoes not require any knowledge of HTML to perform this process.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment for implementingthe Web Site database system. In general, FIG. 3 depicts a databaseschema for implementing the components of the Web Site Database system.Specifically, for this embodiment, the Web Site Database system includesa folder table 320, an items table 330, a navigation bar table 340, astyle table 350, a perspective table 360, and a category table 370.Also, as shown in FIG. 3, conversion code 310 converts HTTP input fromuser computers to PL/SQL retrieve and stored procedures for operation inthe database schema. For this embodiment, each folder comprises an entry(i.e., row source) in the folders table 320 (e.g., entry 325). Asdepicted in the folders table 320, folders are linked to sub folders,also contained in the folders table 320. There is a one to manyrelationship between an entry in the folders table 320 to entries in theitems table 330. This relationship represents the one or more itemscontained in a single folder.

An item entry in the items table 330, representing items for the WebSite, has a one to many relationship with entries in the perspectivetable 320, and has a one-to-one relationship with an entry in thecategory table 370. Thus, an item entry may be assigned to one or moreperspectives, and an item entry may be assigned to one category. Asshown in FIG. 3, entries in the folders table 360 have a one-to-onerelationship with entries in both the style table 350 and navigation bartable 340. The entries in the style table 350 define the style for thecorresponding folder, and the entries of the navigation bar define thelinks on the navigation bar.

Designing the Overall Structure of the Web Site Database

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment for generating aWeb Site using the Web Site Database system. First, the databaseadministrator or information technology administrator creates a database(e.g., on a web server) for implementation of the Web Site Databasesystem (block 400). The site administrator designs the Site, and assignsfolder owners (block 410). Folder owners assign content providers toprovide content for their folders (block 420). Then, contentcontributors add content to the Web Site (block 430). Thereafter, theWeb Site user community may search the site and view, depending upon theviewer's privileges, the Web Site contents (block 440).

The Web Site Development Tool permits database administrators to createnew users and manage existing user privileges all within the Web Site.Specifically, the Web Site Development Tool includes all the necessaryfeatures for managing database users such as: creating new users;creating levels and assigning users to those levels; granting privilegeson database objects to users and levels; and granting user privileges tobuild objects and browse schemas. During the Web Site creation process,a site administrator user account is created. When a site administratorlogs onto the Web Site, the site administrator may design the initialparameters for the Web Site. This task includes: creating a style,creating folders, creating categories and creating perspectives.

The site administrator logs on to the Web Site database system by typingthe administrator user name into the logon dialog box. In oneembodiment, after logon, the Web Site database displays the sitesadministration page. FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment for anadministration page. As shown in FIG. 5, the administration pageincludes a section for web site managers, content managers, accessmanagers, as well as a toolbox. In the web site managers section, toolsfor “Site” and “style” are included. In the “Site” section, the siteadministrator may establish site wide features and settings; setuplistener settings; control logs; system purges; and news. In the stylesection, the site administrator may create and manage styles to controlframes, navigation bars, text, color and background images. The contentmanagers section includes tools to manage “folders”, “categories”,“perspectives”, and “custom item types.” The folder manager permits theuser to manage site structure and navigation, control access by users ingroups, and apply styles to images and folders. The category toolspermit the user to create and manage categories as well as associatecategories with graphic images. The perspective tool permits the user tocreate and manage perspectives as well as establish their displaychoices. Custom item type tools permit the user to create custom itemtypes and establish optional attributes and procedures.

The access managers section includes tools for “group”, “user”,“privilege”, and “personal information.” The group tools permit the userto create and manage groups as well as assign group administrators. Theuser tools permit a user to create and manage users, and assignadministrator privileges to a single user. The privilege tools permit auser to assign administrator privileges to users, and the personalinformation tool permits the user to enter information for the userlogged on. The toolbox section of the administration page includesfunctions for site statistics and search capabilities. The sitestatistics tool permits the user to produce and view online reports forsite and folder page requests, searches, and user access privileges. Thesearch pool permits a user to establish basic search features for searchengines, as well as advance search features for text searches.

From the access managers section, the user may click “user” to displaythe user manager. FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment for the usermanager. As shown in FIG. 6, the page displayed is divided into twopanels. A “create user” panel permits a site administrator to create theuser. The “find user” section permits searching for users. The user maydesire to search for users assigned as site administrators. For example,the user may type “M%” to display user names that start with the letterM.

FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment for a detailed user screen. As shownin FIG. 7, the user may set “administration privileges.” In oneembodiment, there are three types of administrators: siteadministrators, style administrators, and news administrators. Siteadministrators have the highest level of privileges in the Web SiteDatabase system. Site administrators may view or modify anything on thesite. For example, site administrators may create users, groups ofusers, and control access to the site. Site administrators may alsoperform all file and news administrator functions. Style administratorsestablish the look and feel of the Web Site. Style administrators havecontrol over the color screens, text, fonts and background images forpages used on the Site. News administrators have the authority to addnews to the home page, approved news submitted by public users, andperform other functions related to site wide news management.

Overview of the Web Site Database Embodiments

FIG. 8 illustrates an example Web Site home page using the Web SiteDatabase system. This example Web Site is displayed in view mode. Thisexample display shows a “product management” folder for storing andorganizing product management documents, requirements, issues, etc. Theproduct management folder includes categories for “general”,“presentation”, and “collateral.” Under each of the categories, there isone or more sub folders. For this example, sub folders exist for“application requirements”, “customer requirements”, “demos”, “portaldevelopment”, “plans”, “enterprise search”, “work in progress”, and“status reports.” As shown in FIG. 8, items may be displayed beneath thesub folders.

In addition to categories and folders, the example Web Site displayed inFIG. 8 also includes perspectives. For this example, a perspective for“external” and a perspective for “internal” exist. Specifically, theitem “Yahoo Item” is assigned to the perspective “external”, and theitem “sample file load” is assigned to the perspective “internal.”

To transition from view mode to edit mode, a user selects the “edit”icon displayed in the upper right in corner of FIG. 8. FIG. 9illustrates one embodiment for the example web site home page of FIG. 8in edit mode. As shown in FIG. 9, a display bar, including severalfunctions, is displayed at the top of the screen. Specifically,functions are provided to “Add Item”, “Add Folder”, “Folder Property”,“Navigation Bar”, “Style Editor”, and “Administration.” A description ofthese functions is provided below.

1. Items of the Web Site Database:

In general, items are the information building blocks on the Web SiteDatabase. All content on the Web Site Database, such as text, graphics,or links, are added as items. When an item is added, the Web SiteDatabase permits the user to specify its title, display option, andoptional information about the item. An item type defines the displayand functional characteristics of items that a contributor adds to a WebSite Database. When adding items, the user selects from one of the itemtypes. When selected, the URL item type adds a URL to a folder. Thetitle of each URL item is displayed as a link that users can select toview another Web Site or Web page. For a file item type, the Web SiteDevelopment Tool up loads a file and stores it in the database of theWeb Site.

Each file item title is displayed as a link. Users may click the link toview the file or download the file to their computer. For a text itemtype, the Web Site Development Tool places text (up to 32KB) on thedatabase of the Web Site. When the text item is added to a folder, theitems title is displayed on the folders page as a link that users mayclick to display the text. For an image map item type, the Web SiteDatabase inserts an image map, with clickable regions and associatedURLs on the Web Site. To add a folder link item type, the Web SiteDatabase places the link to a folder on the Web Site.

For a Web Site component, the Web Site Development Tool adds a Web Sitecomponent such as forms, menus, frame drivers, and reports to the WebSite. In one embodiment, these components are created with a Web Sitecomponent builder and an appropriate build wizard. The title of each WebSite component item is displayed as a link that users may click toexecute the component. For a “PL/SQL” call item type, the Web SiteDevelopment Tool displays the results of some “PL/SQL” code. The titleof each “PL/SQL” call is displayed as a link that users click toexecute. For the multiple files item type, the Web Site Development Toolup loads multiple separately independent files into a specific folder.The title of each multiple file item is displayed as a link that usersmay click to view the files or download them to their computer.

In one embodiment, the Web Site Database provides an assortment ofdefault item types. For this embodiment, the item types include: file,text item, URL, folder link, PL/SQL call, web site database component,and image map. Once users identify the item type, they are provided alist of attributes to define that item. Table 1 below lists attributesthat are available in an example web site database default item type.

TABLE 1 File Text URL Folder PL/SQL Com- Image Attribute Item Item ItemLink Call ponent Map Name X Title X X X X X X X Description X X X X X XX Category X X X X X X X Perspectives X X X X X X X (multiple) Author XX X X X X X Expiration X X X X X X X Date Image X X X X X X X Rollover XX X Image Keywords X X X X X X X Display In X X X Place Display In X X XFrame Display In X X X X X X Full Browser Enable X X X X X X X Check Out

The web site database default item types are limited to the defaultattributes assigned to them. If the user desires to append additionalattributes to a default item type, then an extended item type iscreated. When creating an extended item type, the default item type iscopied, along with its related attributes. Then, a user may extend thecopied item type by adding attributes that the user creates. Extendeditem types may be used to collect additional information via the itemsattributes.

In one embodiment, in addition to the standard item types, the Web SiteDatabase also supports creating custom item types. Custom item typesenabled the user to customize the existing item types to make them mapmore specifically to the items included in the Web Site. For example, acustom item type may enable the user to add notes about a text item andto specify a string to pass to a search engine.

2. Categories In The Web Site Database:

In general, a category is a classification for an item that answers thequestion “what is this item?” Categories are used by end users of theWeb Site Database to filter information. The site administrator maycreate categories specifically for the different types of content thatis planned for display using the Web Site Development Tool. In oneembodiment, only regular items are assigned a category (categories arenot available for news, announcement or quick to pick items). Byorganizing items in categories, the content provider presents to endusers of the Web Site Database a clear understanding of the types ofcontent they may expect on the Web Site, and a general understanding ofhow to Web Site is organized. Using categories, the end user may viewitems by category. In addition, end-users may specify categories whenthey perform an advanced search in the Web Site Database. For theexample travel Web Site discussed above, there may be categories for“maps”, “excursions”, and “hotel reviews.” In one embodiment, itemsassociated with categories are alphabetically organized and displayed ona folder page by item name.

3. Folders In The Web Site Database:

As discussed above, to perform any folder tasks, the user or group musthave the appropriate folder privileges set by the folder owner or siteadministrator. In general, a folder is a collection of related objects,including items and even other folders. For the example travel Web Site,folders may exist for “Africa”, “America's”, and “Europe.” Folders arethe basic building blocks of the Web Site Database. All Web SiteDatabase sites consist of folders. The folders, in turn, contain contentor items. For example, the items accessible within a folder may includetext files, graphical images, and even URLs for other related sites. Tofurther refine the Web Site's structure, the creator may generatefolders within folders (i.e., sub folders). Sub folders may be nestedmany levels deep depending upon the complexity of the content andbroadness of the audience.

In one embodiment, the Web Site's home page is actually the Web Sitedatabase's root folder. Each folder has a navigation bar from which theuser can navigate to other folders in areas on the web site. Each folderalso has a content area in which the folder's content appears. Dividinga Web Site into folders allows the Web Site creator to organize contentaccording to a structure similar to that of a file system on a personalcomputer. Thus, this paradigm makes it easier for users to find theinformation they need.

Each folder has a folder owner. The folder owner is responsible for thecontent of that folder. Dedicating responsibility to each folder resultsin a system that is maintained by somebody who's familiar with theinformation and who's able to keep the information accurate andup-to-date. Site administrators may create folders anywhere in the WebSite. A folder owner may create folders within the folders that theyown. A folder owner may make folders containing general informationaccessible to anyone that reviews the Web Site. Alternatively, thefolder owner may restrict access to folders containing sensitiveinformation to specific users who must first logon to the Web Site.

After creating a folder or editing a folder, the folder owner permits auser to configure and control the behavior and functionality of aparticular folder. In one embodiment, there are six folder propertiesthat contain specific folder configuration settings. In one embodiment,these configuration settings are presented to the user in the form oftabs. A “main” tab identifies the folder to users, makes foldersavailable to public users, and provides options to set the display orderfor the subfolders. The “style” tab lets the user customize the folder'sstyle for the navigation bar, banner, and content area. If the style forthe folder is not set, then the folder inherits the parent foldersstyle. An “image” tab lets the user choose the folder image and overallimage for the navigation bar, as well as the banner image for the pagetitle. The “navigation bar” tab permits the user to choose thenavigation bar to apply to the folder. The navigation bar also lets theuser select specific folder, category, and perspective links. The“users” tab provides a mechanism to grant folder privileges to users.Also, the “groups” tab provides a mechanism to grant folder privilegesto groups.

4. Styles In Web Site Database

In general, a style is a template that controls the look and feel of thehome page and each folder page on the Web Site. In one embodiment, thestyle template governs the navigation bar and page body, colors, textfont, size, background images, banners, and other graphic elements thatare common to each page. With the Web Site Database, the user does notcontrol the detailed layout of each page; instead, the pages aredynamically generated by the Web Site Database, based on the settingsand parameters specified in the style template. The Web Site Databaseprovides a default style. In addition, the user may generate customstyles to suit particular needs. A single style may be chosen for theentire Web Site (e.g., the home page and each folder). Alternatively,the user may assign different styles to give each folder a distinct lookand feel.

5. Perspectives In The Web Site Database

A perspective is a cross category grouping of an item (4104). Byassigning a perspective, the Web Site creator is answering the question“who will be interested in this item?” For the example travel Web Site,perspectives may include “Vacations for Nordic Enthusiasts”,“Archaeology Expeditions”, “Extreme Vacations for Adventurers”, etc. Inone embodiment, the Web Site Database includes a perspective manager.The perspective manager allows users,to create perspectives for itemsthat potentially interest the audience.

When a user adds or edits an item, they have the option of assigning(4006) one or more perspectives to that item. Unlike categories, theuser is not required to assign perspectives to an item (4010). However,when perspectives are assigned, they may be used by end users of the WebSite to filter information (4012). Specifically, end users of the WebSite may view items by perspective and may also specify perspectiveswhen they perform an advanced search. Perspectives are available forregular items.

The Web Site Database permits the user to associate an icon with aperspective. If an icon is associated with a perspective, theperspective icon is displayed (4008) next to, the item's title. The WebSite Database also permits a user to change perspective's name and icon.The content manager also permits a user to delete a perspective. Unlikecategories, the user may delete a perspective without deleting the itemsassigned to the perspective.

A group is a collection of users that share a common interest orresponsibility. A group has common privileges in the Web Site. For anexample corporate Intranet application, all graphical designers at thecompany may be designated as a single group. This group of graphicdesigners may be designated as style administrators. Any end-user maycreate a group. The person who creates the group is considered a groupowner, and the group owner designates one or more group administrators.As the creator of the group, the group owner has the authority to modifyor delete the group. The group administrator also has the authority tomodify or delete the group.

Self-Service Web Site Creation & Maintenance

Initially, the user logs onto the system with a user login dialog box.The dialog box queries the user for the user name and the user password.After successful logon, the Web Site Database system displays an initialwelcome screen in a predetermined root folder. An example logon welcomescreen is displayed in FIG. 10.

The Web Site Database permits the sharing of information among users inthe Web Site. In one embodiment, to share information among users, eachWeb Site user with a user name and password has an associated personalfolder. FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment for displaying personalfolders for the Web Site database system. As shown in FIG. 11, analphabetical directory is provided at the top of the screen to permit auser to jump to folders with the corresponding letter. Also, as shown inFIG. 11, a personal folder is created for each registered user of theWeb Site Database system. Users may work within these personal folders.Specifically, the user may add items, organize items by creating otherfolders, and control access to their personal folders. This provides anideal environment for sharing information among registered users at aWeb Site. No floppy disks or electronic mail is needed, and everyonealways has access to the latest versions of the content.

In one embodiment, the Web Site Database includes an interface foradding new items (e.g., the files, text and URLs) to the Web Site. Inaddition, this interface permits the user, with the proper privileges,to edit or to delete existing items within the Web Site itself. Whencontributors logon to the Web Site and navigate to a folder where theuser has the appropriate privileges to edit, the user may simply clickthe edit button and start editing and adding content.

1. Adding Items

In one embodiment, the Web Site Database includes item management toolsto manage items. The item management tools are displayed in edit mode.The user may move the cursor control device of the computer over a toolto display its tool tip. An “add sub item” management tool, wheninvoked, displays the item wizard to add a sub item to the selecteditem. An “add an item below this item” tool displays the item wizard toadd a new item after the selected item. An “edit item” tool displays theitem manager to allow the user to change the required or optional itemsettings. A “delete item” tool removes the item from the folder, and an“expire item” tool causes the selected item to expire. When expired, theitem is no longer visible to the user. A “move item” tool displays themove item page. This tool permits the user to move the item to anotherlocation in the same folder or to move the item to another foldercompletely. The “move item up” tool automatically moves the selecteditem above the previous item. The “move item left” permits the user tomove quickpick items to the left.

The “check out item” tool applies only to items enabled for check out.When an item is checked out, no other contributor may edit the item. Ifanother contributor attempts to edit the item, a message is displayedthat the item is checked out by “username”, and the edit tool is notavailable. A “checked-in item” tool permits a contributor to return theupdated item to the folder after editing it. This tool applies only toitems that have been checked out and that were enabled for checked out.The “multiple files item” function indicates that the item has multiplereferenced files associated with it. The “multiple files missing fileitem” function indicates that the item is missing one or more referencedfiles. The user may click to display a multiple item page so that theuser may download the missing files. An “approve item” tool displays onthe news administrator's, site administrator's or folder owner's homepage for a user's request for approval of an item. The approve item iconis displayed only for items that are added by contributors who have the“create with approval privilege.” A task help function displays taskbased help that includes how to topics, table of contents, index, andfull text search capabilities. A context help function displays contextsensitive help for the current page.

FIG. 12 illustrates one screen for an item Wizard to “Add an Item.” Thefirst step of the Wizard includes specifying an item type and displayoptions. The user may select an item type from an item type list asshown in FIG. 12. For this example, the item type selected is a file. Inone embodiment, the Web Site Database includes item display options topermit a user to select where the item will be located on a rendered Webpage. FIG. 12 displays, on the item wizard, an example Web page showingwhere items may appear. The vertical bar in the left frame is thenavigation bar. The entire area in the right frame refers to the contentarea. The strip in the right frame is the title banner.

As shown in FIG. 12, the web page includes areas for Quickpicks,Announcements, News and Regular items. In general, the quickpick displayprovides access to high visibility items. Quickpicks are the mostprominent items on a folder page. For this embodiment, Quickpicks aredisplayed at the center and top of each folder page. Also, as shown inFIG. 12, Announcements are displayed directly below any Quickpicks toreceive immediate attention by the web page viewer. The Announcementtext is centered and stacked vertically on the home or folder page bytitle. An announcement item is used to introduce information to thegeneral public. For example, one may announce the appointment of themember of the board or the date of an important corporate event. A Newsitem is used to categorize time sensitive items. In one embodiment, theNews items are displayed as text links by title under the news banner oneach folder page. Public users may add News items to the root folder aslong as the site administrator has checked the “enabled public users tocontribute news” feature. A regular item, displayed below the Newsitems, receives no special display treatment. The title of each regularitem is displayed along with all other regular items, below all thespecial banners. In one embodiment, regular items are displayed under acategory banner grouped by category (in alphabetical order).

FIG. 13 illustrates a screen for a second step in the item Wizard inaccordance with one embodiment. For this step, the user, through theitem Wizard, specifies the filename (with path), title, category, adescription, if preferred, and an expiration period. A browse button isprovided to assist the user in locating a directory and file. The userselects the category through the category list. For the example of FIG.13, the user selects the category “specification.” Also, for thisexample, the user provides a description of the item (i.e., this is aspecification on adding content management capabilities to WebDB.”). Theexpiration period is set by selecting from options in the list. For thisexample, the user designates the item as “permanent.”

FIG. 14 illustrates a screen for a third step in the item Wizard inaccordance with one embodiment of the Web Site Database system. Thisstep permits a user to submit optional settings and values.Specifically, the user may select from a list of predefined perspectives(e.g., internal, external, word, PowerPoint, HTML, zip, etc.). From thisstep of the item Wizard, the user may associate an image with the item.Furthermore, the user may add keywords for searching, and authorinformation, as well as designate display options and enable item checkout.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example Web Site screen display after adding theitem. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 15, the item “WebDB contentmanagement proposal” was added to the “specification” category with theperspective “internal.” Also, the description provided from the Wizard(e.g., this is a specification on adding content management capabilitiesto WebDB) is displayed beneath the link for selecting the item.

An item type defines the display and functional characteristics of itemsthat a contributor adds to a Web Site. The user may create their owncustom item types that enable them to customize the existing item typesto make them map more specifically to the items in their Web Site. Inone embodiment, only Site administrators may create custom item types.The following example illustrates the creation of a custom item typethat enables users to add notes about a text item and to specify astring to pass to the search engine. In the navigation bar, the userclicks the administration icon to display the administration page. Inthe content manager section, the user clicks the “custom item type” todisplay the custom item type manager. In part, the Web Site Databasesystem displays a create custom item type panel.

FIG. 16 illustrates one embodiment for a create custom item type panel.Using the create custom item type panel, a user types, in the namefield, the type. For this example, from the base item type list, theuser selects “file.” In one embodiment, when the user first creates acustom item type, it is exactly the same as the base item type. The userthen edits the custom item type to customize it to meet the specificrequirements. The user then clicks “create.” Similarly, in the customitem type manager, the user may create more custom item types as well asfind and edit existing custom item types.

FIG. 17 illustrates one embodiment for specifying attributes in a customitem type. As shown in FIG. 17, the user may use custom item typeattributes to enable contributors to add more information about an itemor specify values to pass to a PL/SQL or HTTP procedure. A user ispermitted to specify, under the features and values section, a name,default value, display control, pass procedure control and a control asto whether the attribute is required.

FIG. 18 illustrates a screen for the user to specify the type ofprocedure and the text of the link display to execute the procedure. Inthe features and values section, the user specifies a procedure type. Inthe link text field, the user may specify that the text be displayed asa hypertext link next to the item title. When a user clicks the text, acall it is made to the procedure using the value specified in the “p”field when the item was added. The user may specify the procedure callin the procedure call field, as well as specify several conditions forexecution of the procedure call.

2. Creating and Editing Folders:

In one embodiment, the Web Site Database includes a folder dashboard.FIG. 19 illustrates one embodiment for a folder dashboard. In general,the dashboard is designed to provide quick and easy access to the mainfolder features. The folder dashboard appears below the folder titlebanner while the user is in edit mode. The add item icon 500 displaysthe item wizard to add an item to the folder. The add folder icon 510displays the folder manager to create or edit folders. The folderproperties 520 displays the folder manager from which the user maydefine or edit the folder properties. A navigation bar icon 530, wheninvoked, displays the folders navigation bar display properties. Thestyle editor icon 540, when invoked, causes the Web Site Database todisplay the style editor. From the style editor, the user may edit thestyle for the folder or create a new style for the folder. Theadministration icon 550, when invoked, displays the main administrationpage from which the user may access the various administration tools.Finally, the view folder icon, when invoked, reverts to Web SiteDatabase from edit mode to view mode.

The following example illustrates creation of a folder that containscontent management information about a product offered by a company. Inone embodiment, when the user logs onto the Web Site, the home pagedisplays a list of folders owned by that user. After logon, the userscrolls down the home page and under the “Owned Folders” banner, clickshis/her name to display his/her personal folder. In the banner at thetop of the page, the user clicks the “edit” icon to enter the edit mode.In response, the Web Site database system displays the folder dashboard.In the folder dashboard, the user clicks the “add folder” icon todisplay the folder manager. In part, the Web Site database systemdisplays a create folder panel. To create a folder, the user navigatesto a folder that is the parent folder of the new folder being created.For purposes of this illustration, a folder is contained in the mainpage the Web Site. The main page of the Web Site itself is a folder,entitled the root folder. Site administrators own the root folder.

FIG. 20 illustrates one embodiment for a create folder panel. For thisexample, in the name field, the user types “WebDBContentMgmt.” In thetitle field, the user types a title for the folder, such as “ContentManagement Reqs.” Thereafter, the user clicks the “create” buttonlocated on the create folder panel.

From the toolbar, the user clicks the “done” icon. In response, the WebSite Database system creates a link between the root folder (i.e., mainweb page) and the Content Management Reqs folder. The user may view theContent Management Reqs folder as shown in FIG. 21.

In another embodiment, the user may create folders through theadministration page. For this example, the user desires to create, in a“Products” folder, another folder that contains confidential informationabout products offered by the company. To accomplish this task, theuser, from the navigation bar, clicks the administration icon to displaythe administration page. In the content manager section, the user clicks“folder” to display the folder manager tree. The folder manager treelists all of the folders that the user has access privileges. The userthen expands the “personal folders”, and expands the first letter of theuser name. The user then expands his/her personal folder. In the toolbarto the right of products, the user clicks an icon to display the foldermanager. In the create folder panel, the user types, in the name field,“ConfidentialName.” In the title field, the user types “Confidential.”Then, the user clicks the create button to create the folder. At the topof the navigation bar, the user clicks the site logo to display the homepage. The user may then scroll down the home page, and under the “OwnedFolders” banner, click “Confidential” to display the confidentialfolder.

FIG. 22 illustrates one embodiment for specifying folder attributes inthe folder manager. In the folder attributes section, the user specifiesa title for the folder, as well as provides a general description of thefolder (e.g., this folder is for WebDB product management documents,requirements, issues, etc.). The folder attributes section also includesa check box to allow the user to specify display of the folder to publicusers. A display section permits the user to specify which holders todisplay within the parent folder, as well as select the display orderfor the sub folders.

FIG. 23 illustrates a screen for the folder manager for specifyingnavigation bar features. This screen permits the user to choose elementsfor the folders navigation bar. Default results in the same elements forthe navigation bar as the root folder. The folder inherits thenavigation bar from the parent folder's elements. The customizedselection permits the user to customize the navigation bar for thisfolder.

FIG. 24 illustrates a screen display to customize the navigation bar fora folder. Using this screen, the user selects from the availableelements for display to customize the navigation bar. The user may alsoselects available folder links for the navigation bar by moving them tothe displayed folder links box.

3. Creating and Editing Categories:

Before contributors began to add items to the Web Site, the siteadministrator collaborates with folder owners to determine whichcategories, and optionally perspectives, to create for the Web Site.Categories should be created to correspond to the different types ofcontent on the Web Site. In one embodiment, the site administrator mustfirst create a category before contributors can assigned an item to it.Once categories are created, the categories are visible to folder ownersand contributors when adding or editing items.

FIG. 25 illustrates a category dashboard to provide quick and easyaccess to the category features of the Web Site Database System. Asshown in FIG. 25, the category dashboard includes buttons for “add item”600, “add category” 610, “category properties” 620, “administration” 630and an icon, labeled 640, to “view folder.”

As discussed above, all items added to the Web Site Database system areassigned to a category. In one embodiment, site administrators createcategories. To create a category, the site administrator clicks theadministration icon in the navigation bar, and the Web Site Databasesystem displays the administration page. In the content manager section,the user clicks “category” to display the category manager. In part, theWeb Site Database system displays a create category panel. FIG. 26illustrates an example create category panel. In the “name” field, theuser types the name of the category. Thereafter, the user clicks“create.” Similarly, the category manager permits the user (i.e., siteadministrator) to create more categories, as well as find and editexisting categories.

In one embodiment, to create a new category, the user “clicks” on theadministration 630 icon. The administration 630 icon displays the mainadministration page from which the user may access the variousadministration tools. On the administration page, the user clicks thecategory or the category link to display the category manager. In thecreate category name field, the user types a unique category and name.Then, the user clicks “create”, and the newly created category is addedto the find category list.

When a categories name is changed, all items previously associated withthat category are automatically associated to the new name. To changethe categories name, the user clicks the administration icon 630 orselects the administration link on the administration page. The userclicks the category link icon, or chooses the category link undercontent manager, to display the content category manager page.

Deleting a category deletes all items belonging to the category on theWeb Site. A user may also associate an image with a category. Ratherthan displaying the category list or category links on the navigationbar, a user may choose to display an image that is associated to acategory.

4. Creating and Editing Perspectives:

As discussed above, each item added to the Web Site Database system mayoptionally be assigned to one or more perspectives. In one embodiment,site administrators create perspectives. To create a perspective (4002),the user clicks the administration icon in the navigation bar. Inresponse, the Web Site Database system displays the administration page.In the content manager section, the user clicks the perspective todisplay the perspective manager. In part, the Web Site Database systemdisplays a create perspective panel. FIG. 27 illustrates one embodimentfor a create perspectives panel. In the name field, the user types in aname for the perspective. The user then clicks the create hutton. Fromthe perspective manager, the user may create more perspectives, as wellas find and edit existing perspectives.

In one embodiment, the Web Site Database includes a perspectivedashboard. The perspective dashboard is designed to provide quick andeasy access to the perspective functions. FIG. 28 illustrates oneembodiment for the perspective dashboard. An add item 710 icon displaysthe item wizard to add an item to this perspective. The add perspectiveicon 720 displays the perspective manager to create or editperspectives. The perspective properties icon 730 displays theperspective manager from which the user may define or edit theperspective properties. The administration icon 740 displays the mainadministration page from which the user may create the variousadministration tools. The view icon, 750, switches from edit mode toview mode.

5. Creating and Editing Styles:

As discussed above, the style of a Web Site determines how the Web Sitelooks. Folder owners may use an existing style to apply to theirfolders. In addition, site administrators may grant folder ownersprivileges to create their own styles. To design the style of the WebSite, the user clicks the administration icon in the navigation bar todisplay the administration page. In the Web Site Managers section, theuser clicks “style” to display the style manager. In part, the Web SiteDatabase system displays a create style panel.

FIG. 29 illustrates one embodiment for a create style panel. In the namefield, the user types an identification for a style. In the “Based onStyle”section, the user may choose the “Main Site style. Using a basestyle provides the user with a starting point. The new style is createdwith the same settings as the Main Site Style. Then, the user may editthe new style settings to their own preferences. To accomplish this, theuser clicks “Access: Private.” By doing this, the style is onlyavailable to the user. After designing the style, the user may make thisstyle available for other folder owners to use. To create the new style,the user proceeds by clicking the button “create” shown in the createstyle panel of FIG. 29. From the style manager, the user may create morestyles, as well as find and edit existing styles.

To find a style, the user utilizes the “Find Style” panel of the stylemanager. FIG. 30 illustrates one embodiment for the find style panel ofthe style manager. For the example of FIG. 30, the user searches for the“tutorial style” as shown in the name list. From the panel, the userclicks “edit” to display the style editor.

FIG. 31 illustrates one embodiment for the style editor. From the styleeditor, the user may click the area of the site on the site stylediagram for which the user desires to change a style setting (e.g.,navigation bar, banner or content area). In the site style diagram, theuser clicks the “navigation bar”, to display the style manager “MainPage for the Navigation Bar.”

FIG. 32 illustrates an example style manager for the navigation bar. Theuser may check “resizable navigation bar” to enable users to resize thenavigation bar by dragging the frame border. By clicking the finishicon, the user saves his/her changes and returns to the style editor.

In the site style diagram, the user may click “banner” to display thestyle manager “main page for the banner.” FIG. 33 illustrates oneembodiment for the site style diagram for a banner. For this example,the user may click the “text” tab to display the text page. From the“font” list, the user may choose a font other than the current setting.The user may also change the font size from the font size list, and maychange the font style from the font style list. As highlighted in FIG.33, the user may check the main banner text and sub banner text,followed by clicking the finish icon, to change the main banner text andsub banner text to the settings specified in the lists. The user thenreturns to the style editor.

The user may click the color tab to display the color page. FIG. 34illustrates one embodiment for the color page. The user may choose acolor from the color palette. The user, from the Title Link, may changethe Title Link color. The user may also change the background color.

The user may apply a style to a folder. To apply a style to a folder,the user begins by clicking the site logo at the top of the navigationbar to display the home page. The user then scrolls down the home page,and under the “Owned Folders” banner, clicks a folder (e.g., “products”)to display the products folder. In the banner of the top of the page,the user clicks the “edit” icon to enter into edit mode. In response,the Web Site Database system displays the folder dashboard (FIG. 19). Inthe folder dashboard, the user clicks the “style editor” icon to displaythe style editor of the products folder where, depending upon the user'sprivileges, the user may: choose an existing style; edit the currentstyle; and create a new style.

FIG. 35 illustrates one embodiment for the style editor. For thisexample, the user may select a style from the “Select Style” list. Theuser may then click “finish” to save the changes and return to theproducts folder. The products folder now uses the style specified (e.g.,the text in the banners at the top of page is the font specified, titlelinks in the content area are the color specified, and the content areaitself is the color specified, etc.).

6. Creating and Editing Groups

In one embodiment, to create a group in the Web Site database system, agroup panel is used. FIG. 36 illustrates one embodiment for a creategroup panel. The create group panel is accessible from the accessmanager. As shown in FIG. 36, this page is divided into the create grouppanel and the find group panel. An administrator may create a group bytyping the name in the field provided and by selecting the createbutton. The find group panel is used to locate existing groups such asfor editing the groups.

FIG. 37 illustrates one embodiment to modify groups. Specifically, thisscreen permits an administrator to add users to a group, view groupmembers, delete members, or specify a member as a group administrator.To add a member to a group, the administrator types the user name in thename field, and selects the “add to access list” button. As shown inFIG. 37, a check box to designate group administrators is provided.

Granting Privileges In the Web Site Database

When end-users first display a Web Site, they may only view items inpublic folders. For greater access to the Web Site, users must log ontothe Web Site using their database usemame and password. Once users logonto the Web Site, the tasks they perform on a folder depends upon theprivileges they have been granted for that folder. In one embodiment, ifthe end-user has an own privilege, then the end-user may perform allfolder tasks, including granting folder privileges to other users. Ifthe end-user has a view privilege, the end-user may view any item in thefolder. A style privilege permits an end-user to make changes to thefolder style. A manage item privilege permits an end-user to add, edit,or delete items in the folder. Also, a “create with approval” privilegepermits an end-user to add new items to the folder. Items that are addedusing the “create with approval” privilege must be approved by thefolder owner before displayed publicly.

To limit access to items in a folder owned by a folder owner, the folderowner grants the appropriate access privileges. For example, if theinformation in a folder is of a confidential nature, the folder ownermay want only a few users to view the contents. For example, in oneapplication, a company may want to use a confidential folder, a subfolder of the products folder, to make confidential product informationavailable to its employees. However, the company does not want thecompany's customers to view this information. Under this scenario,company employees have the privilege to view the confidential folder,whereas the customers do not have the privilege to view the confidentialfolder.

A folder owner may desire to grant the same privileges to multipleusers. For example, the folder owner may want to allow all the membersof a department in a corporation to add items to the department'sfolder. Under this scenario, rather than individually granting each userthe “create with approval privileges”, the folder owner may create agroup of users and may grant, in a single operation, the privileges toall members of this group.

A folder owner or an individual with manage items privileges on afolder, may add, edit, move and delete items in that folder. When anitem is added to a folder by a folder owner or an individual with manageitems privileges, then that item is immediately visible in the folder.An individual with “create with approval” privileges may only add itemsto the folder. Under this scenario, the item does not become visible toother users until the folder owner approves the item. This featureenables the folder owner to maintain control of the folder's content.

FIG. 38 illustrates one embodiment for granting user privileges. Ingeneral, this screen provides the ability to authorize users to view,create, and manage items in a corresponding folder. Specifically, fromthe user dialog box, a user name is associated with the folder toprovide access to that folder. As shown below in FIG. 38, a user accesslist permits setting privileges associated with that folder (i.e., own,view, style, manage items, and create with approval).

FIG. 39 illustrates one embodiment for setting group privileges to afolder. As shown in FIG. 39, the administrator, in the group box, mayselect from a predefined group to add access to the folder. Furthermore,through the group access list, the site administrator may specifyindividual access privileges (i.e., own, view, style, manage items, andcreate with approval).

Although the present invention has been described in terms of specificexemplary embodiments, it will be appreciated that various modificationsand alterations might be made by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for displaying content, comprising:receiving input that defines a set of perspectives, wherein eachperspective in the set of perspectives is a cross category grouping ofone or more content items, and wherein said one or more content items isin a plurality of content items; storing, in a database, the pluralityof content items, wherein each of the plurality of content items belongsto one or more categories; receiving user input that associates subsetsof said set of perspectives with each of said plurality of contentitems; and in response to a request to display a web page that containsone of said plurality of content items, displaying on said web page aselectable control for each perspective in the subset of said set ofperspectives that is associated with said one of said plurality ofcontent items.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: storing inthe database a second plurality of content items that are not associatedwith any member of said set of perspectives.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein said input that defines said set of perspectives is received inresponse to user manipulation of a graphical user interface presented bya second web page.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein each member of saidset of perspectives is a key word.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising, in response to input received at said web page, where theinput selects the selectable control of a particular perspective in thesubset of perspectives associated with said one of said content items,performing the steps of: performing a search within said database for aset of content items that are associated with said particularperspective; and displaying, on a second web page, at least one contentitem identified in said search.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein thestep of displaying, on a second web page, at least one content itemincludes displaying, on said second web page, a plurality of contentitems that are associated, within said database, with said particularperspective.
 7. A computer-readable medium carrying one or moresequences of instructions which, when executed by one or moreprocessors, causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:receiving input that defines a set of perspectives, wherein eachperspective in the set of perspectives is a cross category grouping ofone or more content items, and wherein said one or more content items isin a plurality of content items; storing, in a database, the pluralityof content items, wherein each of the plurality of content items belongsto one or more categories; receiving user input that associates subsetsof said set of perspectives with each of said plurality of contentitems; and in response to a request to display a web page that containsone of said plurality of content items, displaying on said web page aselectable control for each perspective in the subset of said set ofperspectives that is associated with said one of said plurality ofcontent items.
 8. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, furthercomprising instructions for: storing in the database a second pluralityof content items that are not associated with any member of said set ofperspectives.
 9. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein saidinput that defines said set of perspectives is received in response touser manipulation of a graphical user interface presented by a secondweb page.
 10. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein eachmember of said set of perspectives is a key word.
 11. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 7, further comprising instructionsfor, in response to input received at said web page, where the inputselects the selectable control of a particular perspective in the subsetof perspectives associated with said one of said content items,performing the steps of: performing a search within said database for aset of content items that are associated with said particularperspective; and displaying, on a second web page, at least one contentitem identified in said search.
 12. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 11 wherein the step of displaying, on a second web page, at leastone content item includes displaying, on said second web page, aplurality of content items that are associated, within said database,with said particular perspective.
 13. An apparatus for displayingcontent, comprising: means for receiving input that defines a set ofperspectives, wherein each perspective in the set of perspectives is across category grouping of one or more content items, and wherein saidcontent item is in a plurality of content items; means for storing in adatabase the plurality of content items, wherein each of the pluralityof content items belongs to one or more categories; means for receivinguser input that associates subsets of said set of perspectives with eachof said content items; and means for displaying on a web page aselectable control for each perspective in the subset of said set ofperspectives that is associated with said one of said content items inresponse to a request to display a web page that contains one of saidcontent items.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising: meansfor storing in the database a second plurality of content items that arenot associated with any member of said set of perspectives.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 13, wherein said input that defines said set ofperspectives is received in response to user manipulation of a graphicaluse interface presented by a second web page.
 16. The apparatus of claim13, wherein each member of said set of perspectives is a key word. 17.The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said web page is a first web page,and further comprising: means for performing a search within saiddatabase for a set of content items that are associated with aparticular perspective in response to input received at said first webpage, where the input selects the selectable control of said particularperspective in the subset of perspectives associated with said one ofsaid content items; and means for displaying, on a second web page, atleast one content item identified in said search in response to inputreceived at said first web page, where the input selects the selectablecontrol of said particular perspective in the subset of perspectivesassociated with said one of said content items.
 18. The apparatus ofclaim 17 wherein the means for displaying, on a second web page, atleast one content item includes means for displaying, on said second webpage, a plurality of content items that are associated, within saiddatabase, with said particular perspective.